Cosmetic applicator with shrinkproof fit



May 9, 1950 l J. W. ANDERSON 2,506,984

cosMETc APPLICATOR WITH SHRINK PRooF FIT Filed May 1e, 1944 Patented May 9, 1950 UNITED STATES ATENT OFFICE COSMETIC APPLICATOR W'ITH SHRINKPROOF FIT 5 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in a handle-like applicator or expellant holder adapted to carry a body of dispensable substance for example a cosmetic lstick of any kind, as lipstick, and pertains more particularly to a holder of the general type disclosed in my copending application, Serial No. 467,573 now eventuated in Patent No. 2,419,526. The term lipstick as used herein refers to any carried body of medicinal, hygienic, cosmetic or marking material, whether .or not in stick or pencil form.

A general object of the invention is to reduce the elaborateness of tool equipment and the number of machine operations required to manufacture and assemble the subject article from parts of all-plastic material; also to reduce the amount of skilled labor required in such manufacture; also to enable major parts of the applicator to be made of inexpensive grades of plastic materials without sacrificing the permanence of workable ts between the parts and otherwise satisfactory operation. The term plastics, or plastic materials, as used herein refers to all moldable forms of synthetic resins, casein and any other non-metallic substances which possess varying abilities to maintain permanently the shape and size in which they are originally produced by the mold especially when molded into thin walled, hollow, or shell-like shapes.

A particular object of the present improvements is to eliminate the necessity for edge turning operations formerly contemplated as means for forming retaining lips on telescopically related parts and to provide, instead, interitting shapes and relative sizes of resilient tubular parts affording enough expansive spring to enable such parts to be snapped into and out of automatically maintained working assemblage by simple hand manipulation.

A contributory object is to secure xedly together certain parts composed of molded plastic material through adherence and interlocking ts,

4this being an assembling expedient that also re- .into place.

A particular object is to provide spot spacers to take up an unusual amount of diametral looseness or play between the closed end of a loosely tting cover cap and the resilient open end of a lipstick casing shell over which such cap is sleeved into place, and to aiiord additional external steadying restraint for the opposite or open end of such cover cap near the rigid or reinforced end of such casing shell.

Still further objects of the present improvements are to protect by effective shielding means the stick ejecting and retracting telescopic core mechanism from becoming clogged by crumbs that may drop from the soft material of the lipstick, anfl to utilize a special shape of closed end for the removable cover cap to help maintain the nose or applicative end of the lipstick central of the cover when not in use, thereby to prevent the highly colored lipstick paste from becoming daubed on the interior side walls of the cover or becoming daubed on the exterior of the walls of the casing shell, which latter must be contacted by the users lingers in manipulating the lipstick holder.

Examples of means afforded by these improvements for attaining the foregoing and other objects will become clear in greater detail from the following description of a representative embodiment of the invention in which description reference is had to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. l, drawn on an enlarged scale, shows a complete lipstick applicative holder and cover cap sleeved thereon, both being longitudinally sectioned on a central plane.

Fig. 2 is a plan view taken in section on plane 2-2 in Fig. 1 crosswise the assembled lipstick holder and cover cap.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view like Fig. 1 drawn on a reduced scale with cover cap removed showing the lipstick projected for use.

Fig. 4 shows the removed cover cap with partially broken away wall.

Fig. 5 is an exploded view of the telescopic core parts of the expellant holder, the cover cap being omitted.

vor articulated core structure for transmitting turning movement from an outside finger operated ferrule to an inside lipstick carrier cup while such cup slides with a screw motion toward and away from such ferrule within a helically grooved casing shell on which the ferrule is free to swivel. The construction herein described makes use of molded all-plastic parts in an assemblage of like nature and does not require for continued satisfactory operation absence of warpage or shrinkage in the originally molded shape of such parts.

In the illustration herein of one form of the improvements an outer tubular casing shell i8 is, before assembly, open at both ends. Its base end is molded to a shape that affords an external an-Y nular stiffening flange H. A helical groove I9 is sunk in the internal face of casing shell l which groove is dead-ended at 2S near the top of the shell but opens freely outward through the anged bottom end of the shell at 2 l. Preferably shell i is molded from a relatively `high grade of plastic material that is fairly immune to warpage and shrinkage after coming from the mold. Also the grooved cylindrical wall or barrel portion of this casing is for the most part of substantial thickness which imparts permanence to its` original shape and size. in other words the barrel portion of casing is is relatively stili and rigid.

In 'the interest of lowered cost of material and product, the features of construction that are novel herewithl enable other major parts of my improved lipstick holder to be molded from less costly grades of plastic materials by economical molding processes, even though less immune to self-change of shape and size as they cool or dry and age. To accomplish this, I have devised a structural relationship of such cheaper plastic parts to the afore 4described casing shell which permits considerable warping distortion and shrinkage of the former without bringing into play difficulties that heretofore have been encountered with fits and relative movements of the parts after assembly.

The ferrule l is molded to a cup shape affording a resilient annularwall I5 composed of a thickened ring-like throat section l2 having a relatively small internal girth interposed between an annular internal groove I4 and a terminal counterbore 24 both having larger internal girths. The bottom end of ferrule |75 isclosed by a solid base wall l1 centrally in whose interior face there is sunk a shallow straight-sided recess or socket Z2. The annular edges 23 and 23 at the junction of throat section lI 2 with counterbore IG and with groove I4, respectively, are chamfered or beveled to facilitate the manual forcing of the end flange l! on casing shell i@ in an axial direction past throat section i2 into or out of groove i4 for purposes of snap assemblage and disassemblage. Ferrule wall l5 at the groove is sufficiently thin and resilient to yield and permit slight spreading of throat l2 for enabling the oversize nange H to pass throat section l2 'and will immediately spring back into the assembled relationship shown in'Figs 1 and L- and thereby imprison flange Il rotatably 'in groove permitting suiiicient diametral play to avoid likelihood of binding from the eiects of distortion or warping of the carrier cup. This enables the cup to be molded from cheaper grades of lcs. rEhe base of the carrier cup contains ll of smaller girth than the diameter of the base of the lipstick, thus forming an annular shoulder 3| on which is seated a thin disk 33, preferably of transparent material. The bottom end of lipstick 33 rests on disk 33 and the latter will preclude crumbs falling from the material of the lipstick from entering well 32 and clogging the underlying relatively movable parts. Well 32 opens downward through a straight sided aperture of smaller cross sectional size than the well itself so that a marginal shelf 38 is formed bordering aperture 34.

Oecupying aperture 34 with a free axially sliding t therein is the straight sided shank of a tubular or hollow coupling 21 which is open at both ends. This coupling may be molded from plastic material to form an outward directed straight-sided head flange 31 slidably fitting well 32. The hollow interior of tubular coupling 21 forms a well 4| extending nearly throughout its length, this well opening downward through a straight sided aperture 42 of smaller cross sectiene. size than well 4l so that a marginal shelf 3E is formed bordering aperture 42. Aperture 42 affords a free axially sliding fit for the straight sided shank of a rotary impelling post I8 rigid with ferrule l5 having an outward directed head frange slidably fitting aperture 42 and the bottorn end of whose shank snugly fits the recess or socket 2?. and is secured therein by some suitable adhesive.

1i'teferring now to new features in the slip cap or cover member i3, the same is purposely molded to have an inside diameter and girth unusually large and oversize in proportion to the outside diameter and girth of the barrel of casing shell is. For example where the casing shell is approx-:imately in diameter the cover cap may be so oversized as to provide 5" diametral clearance or play in the normal annular clearance space between cap and casing shell. This is an example of ample clearance to accommodate shrinking of the cover cap and its warping outof-round even if the wall of the barrel portion of the cap is only 1,/64 thick and hence limber and resilient, and even though such wall is molded of inexpensive, shrinkable and self-warping molded plastic material. However, I prefer to mold the end wall at the head of the cap to a relatively thick dimension and to form a centrally localized inverted bowl-shaped recess 28 in such end wall for centralizing the applicative end of the lipstick when the cap is in place on the casingr shell. Cover cap i3 is further provided with spot spacer projections or inwardly directed axially elongated circumferentially slender ridges 29 of which there may be three, circumferentially spaced.

IRidges 23 takes up the radial clearance between cover cap I3 and casing shell I0 in a region located preferably near the unreinforced open end of the latter and somewhat removed from the end wall of the cover cap in which region there exists the maximum combined ability of both the casing shell and the cover cap to yield if slightly wedged apart by intervening ridges 29 .so that 'a liu t nongrabbing frictional cling is set up when these ridges slide into contacting engagement with the casing shell as shown in Fig. 1. The cap walls are free to distort in a manner to permit slight radial spreading displacement of the spot spacers or ridges 29 for this purpose. This centers and steadies the cap in relation to the casing shell at the applicative end of the lipstick holder. At the base end of the lipstick holder the open end of cover cap I3 enters the annular channel. provided around the casing shell i by counterbore 24 and has a circumferential slip iit with the overlapping wall l surrounding counterbore 24 of fel-rule i6 whereby it is further steadied with light clinging fit so that the cover cap stays dependably in place on the holder while the applicator is being handled or carried about in a pocket book with other toiletries. While this is true, there is nevertheless plenty of room between the cylindrical walls of cover cap I3 and casing shell iii for the former to shrink or warp out-of-round without appreciably altering the tightness of the frictional cling exerted by the spot spacers 29 upon the open end of the casing shell, whereby seizing between the parts is prevented from occurring even when considerable shrinkage and warping takes place.

The operation of a lipstick applicator incorporating these improvements will be obvious. The cover cap iii is first removed and the ferrule I8 is ordinarily clutched against the base of the index finger with the second nger flexed about it to keep the ferrule from turning. The thumb and tip of the index finger of the same hand are thereupon left free to swivel the casing shell I0 about its own axis relatively to the ferrule. Thus the lipstick 3l) can be caused to move back and forth between its projected position in Fig. 3 and its retracted position in Fig. 1. Also, with the applicator so manually held, the extent of projection of the lipstick beyond the open mouth of the casing shell can be maintained or varied while the lipstick is being applied.

if the lipstick is not fully retracted when the cap is restored to place as shown in Fig. 1 then the cap recess 2B will thrust against the end of the lipstick and urge the stick carrier 25 to retract farther while such recess keeps the applicative end of the lipstick centered instead of thrusting it to one side which might result in daubing the open end of the casing shell with the substance of the lipstick which would then be liable to stain the hands of the user or any other article contacted by the open end of the holder.

Among the advantages of the foregoing de# scribed construction is the greater ease of grasping the ferrule rim i5 between the base of the index ringer and the second iinger without unintentionally at the same time grasping to some degree the casing shell li) which would hinder the freedom of the casing shell to be turned by movements of the tips of index ringer and thumb. The larger diameter of ferrule relative to the diameter of the casing shell as well as the considerable axial length of the ferrule accounts for this increased ease of one-handed operation.

it will be evident to those skilled in the art that parts differing in shape, size and arrangement from those herein shown can be arranged to operate on similar principles and yield the advantages arising from the particular constructions herein illustrated to explain the invention. Hence the appended claims comprehend and are intended to cover all fair equivalents for the claimed construction that are taught or suggested by the disclosure hereof.

I claim:

l. in a cosmetic holder a manually separable assemblage of relatively swiveling molded plastic parts including an open ended tubular casing member having an external flange at its open end, and a cupshaped ferrule member having an annular rim wall encompassing said open end of said casing member and containing an internal annular groove receptive to said flange, said groove being separated from the free edge of said rim wall by a throat section of said fer-rule member slightly smaller in diameter than the periphery of said flange, and said rim wall possessing suiicient resilience to permit said flange to be thrust manually past said throat section and into said groove by the mere force of an operators hand.

2. In a lipstick holder, a case having an externally flanged end, a slip cap having an open end oversized in relation to said case, a cupped ferrule operatively associated with said case and cap having a base wall and axially adjacent girths of respectively differing internal diameters including a relatively large girth nearest said base wall deiining a groove occupied by said flanged end of the case and a relatively smaller girth next farther from said base wall defining a throat smaller than said anged end of the case operative to retain the latter in said groove and a relatively larger girth still farther from said base wall, together with an annular shoulder between said throat and the last said relatively larger girth cooperative with the latter to deiine an annular socket receptive to said open end of the slip cap and adapted to hold the latter steady and central with respect to said case.

3. A cosmetic holder including an open ended tubular casing member having a relatively stiff barrel, and an open ended tubular cap member having a relatively limber barrel, said barrels being telescopically assembled and relatively sized to provide clearance space therebetween, a ferrule swiveling on and closing one end of said casing member, a cross wall closing one end of said cap member, circumferentially separated spot spacers carried by and rigidly on the limber barrel of said cap member in position to span said clearance space near the open end of said casing barrel, and a cup-like formation on said ferrule providing a rimmed annular channel about said casing member receptive to the open end of said cap member, said cup-like formation including a rim encompassing said casing member and sufiiciently large in girth to provide between said rim and said barrel of the casing member an annular channel bordered by said rim and by said barrel of the casing member at least as wide radially as the combined radial extent of said clearance space and the wall thickness of said cap member barrel at the latters open end.

4. In a cosmetic holder a manually separable assemblage of relatively swiveling molded plastic parts including, an open ended tubular casing member having an external flange at its open end, and a cup-shaped ferrule member having an annular rim wall encompassing said open end of said casing member and containing an internai annular groove receptive to said flange, said groove being separated from the free edge of said rim wall by a throat section of said ferrule membei` slightly smaller in diameter than the periphery of said flange, and said rim wall possessing sufficient resilience to permit said fiange to be thrust manually past said throat section and into said groove by the mere force of an operators hand, there being cooperative shoulder edges respectively on said casing flange and on said throat Z section of the ferrule beveled at meetingpoints ofvsaid flange and said throat section in a manner to facilitate forced passage of said flange past said throat section into and out of said annular groove.

f 5. Ina cosmetic holder a manually separable assemblage of relatively swiveling molded plastic parts including, an open ended tubular casing member having an external flange at its open end, and a cup-shaped ferrule member having an annular rim Wall encompassing said open end of said casing member and containing an internal annular groove receptive to said flange, said groove being separated from the free edge of said rim wall by-a throat section of said ferrule member slightly smaller in diameter than the periphery vof said iiange, and said rim wall possessing suiicient resilient flexibility to permit said ange to be thrust manually past said throat section and into said groove by the mere force of an operators hand and having a suiiciently reduced thickness at said annular groove to produce said resilient flexibility thereby. to enable said throat section to spread slightly for passing said casingilangewithout undergoing a permanent change in size.

- JOHN W. ANDERSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,872,853 Von Hoenhof Aug. 23, 1932 2,104,902 Morrison Jan. 11, 1938 2,127,350 Davisl et al Aug. 16, 1938 2,238,368 Parkin Apr. 15, 1941 2,263,632 Kendall Nov. 25, 1941 2,313,152 Gelardin May 4, 1943 2,340,556 Picinich Feb. 1, 1944 2,349,799 LeeY May 30, 1944 2,351,395 Broder June 13, 1944 FDREGN PATENTS Number Country Date 33,943 France Oct. 16, 1928 (Addition to No. 632,125) 

